Mountain View Voice

Opinion - September 30, 2011

Here's what they're saying on Town Square

President speaks at Facebook

President Barack Obama aimed to convince viewers of his town hall meeting hosted by Mountain View's LinkedIn that he can lead the country through its myriad economic problems. Obama's message focused on the benefits of investing in infrastructure and schools to create jobs with the American Jobs Act. He made a case for increasing taxes on wealthier individuals to maintain the public institutions that made the country great.

Posted by No stock option Worker, a resident of the Castro City neighborhood

We had eight years of the gun slinger. At least he had no pretensions about himself. Tired of all that, we hoped to elect a leader, but instead we got a down and dirty politician trying to hide behind his rhetoric and his political shenanigans. I voted for this guy and I am sorry I did. He needs to get of his high horse and stop his pontification. If I were a lucky schmuck who made out in the bubble, I, too, would be a philanthropist, but to use such cheap political theater is insulting the intelligence of the Valley crowd. Is any one keeping tab on this president's travel budget? Air Force One is not a political campaign bus. So much for change. Yeah, I asked for change but the only thing this guy is going to leave me is the change in my pocket.

Posted by James Hoosac, a resident of another community

The problem of this country is the increasing contrast of capital inefficiency vs. developing countries such as China. Both the left and right contributed handsomely over the years to this enormous inefficiency. On the left, mainly the rigid cost structures of unionized labor and overly restrictive regulations. On the right, mainly the manipulation of overly complex financial instruments and the overt control of media. Historically, war is the way out of capital inefficiency. World War II ended the Great Depression, for example. This is because a war tends to resolve fundamental issues quickly and decisively in a rather short time frame. George Bush knows this, but he failed. War no longer works as a solution to economic problems.